And As the Red Dawn Whispers
by JJGrace42
Summary: There was a devil in her head and a halo in her hair. And she wondered why no one else was this way. A different kind of SI/OC Insert fanfic. Rated M for violence, strong themes, and language.
1. Prologue - A Halo with Horns

**Author's Note:** This is a side story I've been working on. I promise I'm not abandoning Samsaric, which will still take up the bulk of my writing time. This is just the story I've written on occasion when I get writer's block. So I won't promise to update this story regularly.

This story is a bit of a different take on the idea of a person dying in our world and being reincarnated in the anime. It's _very_ different take on that. Let me know what you guys think. So read and review!

DISCLAIMER: The _Naruto_ world and the characters in it belong to me only in my dreams.

I give you the first installment of _And As the Red Dawn Whispers._

* * *

Prologue - A Halo with Horns

It was her first birthday when she realized she was different. The discovery had been an accident, like most things she did, and she knew she wasn't supposed to have heard them. But her ears were sharper than they realized, and she knew curiosity wouldn't kill her because she was distinctly not feline.

And those kinds of thoughts were exactly what her family was worried about.

"I'm concerned," her mother had confided. "She doesn't act like a child. I look at her and sometimes I feel like I don't even know her."

Her father had sounded serious, and it was hard for her to reconcile him with the clown who'd spent an hour that morning imitating animals just so he could hear her laugh. "She is different . . . . But there's nothing actually wrong with her. We love her all the same, advanced maturity and all."

Then they'd returned, gifting her with the very first book she'd been able to call her own. Her mother promised to teach her to read, and her father apologized for burning the cake to the point where it was inedible. She had giggled and asked them to tell her a story.

They told her about a woman who drowned in the ocean and became a mermaid.

* * *

She was a few months past her two year anniversary when she realized she wasn't alone in her head. She had been folding paper with her mother, her toddler fingers trying to twist the material into a flower, when she thought of a question. What were they doing? Folding paper, yes. But did it have a name?

 **Origami,** the voice had said. **It's called origami.**

She had squeaked in response, her sudden flailing scattering the paper and her mother's masterpieces to the ground. Her mother had looked shocked.

 **Tell her you got a paper cut. That it surprised you.**

So she did. She had expected to be scolded or questioned further, but instead her mother had picked up the mess and told her daughter to be more careful in life. She had asked why.

Her mother had told her that sometimes paper cuts weren't on the outside.

* * *

She had just turned three when she disobeyed the voice for the first time. Crouched outside her parents' room, she stared at the stolen money in her tiny hands and listened to them sleeping. _Tousan says the village is too dangerous,_ she told the voice. _He says I shouldn't go out there alone._

 **But if someone goes with you, they won't let you get the candy.**

 _But it's wrong._

 **And who told you that? Who gets to decide right and wrong?**

 _Not me! I'm three!_ She had clenched the money tightly in her hands and then narrowed her gaze at the crack between the door and the floor. _But it's wrong._ She shoved the currency under the door and them stumbled to her feet. _You're wrong,_ she said firmly, expecting a complaint from her constant companion. Instead, the voice chuckled.

 **That's my girl. It's nice to know you can think for yourself.**

* * *

She was four when they came back and her father wasn't breathing. **Dead,** the voice had whispered. It hadn't sounded surprised. **Everyone, everything, dies.**

 _But why now?_ she had asked, staring as they walked past. She knew what dead meant; it meant someone was sleeping and they wouldn't wake up again. Tears pricked her eyes. Her mother hadn't even glanced at her. Her father—gone, dead, still, hollow.

Not breathing.

 **Because sometimes you can't protect the people you love. Because sometimes Fate likes taking the things precious to us and cripple our emotions just to watch us cry.** The voice had sounded annoyed, frustrated. Something wet traced a path down her cheek. **Don't cry. Crying is weak. It does nothing. Nothing!**

Her eyes had gone wide and her lips trembled. _Kaasan says it's okay to cry._

 **She didn't protect your father, wasn't able to. That's not the sign of a person you can believe. Don't listen to her. Crying is unacceptable.**

 _I . . . I think you're wrong._

The group had disappeared down the hallway, her father's body suspended between them. She couldn't hear them, couldn't see them, couldn't even remember when they'd really left.

 **Tears don't bring back the dead, and they won't protect what you still have.**

 _What are you talking about?_

 **The only thing that protects those precious to you is your own blood, and you have to be willing to spill it.**

* * *

It was five years since she had been born and her father was walking again. Of course, she knew it wasn't him. They'd made sure to explain that. There was metal in his skin and his eyes weren't his anymore. He was a vessel. He was the only way her father's friend could interact with the world anymore.

There was a reason she hadn't seen her uncle in months.

Her mother was distant, withdrawn. The voice had explained the concept of depression to her, but she wasn't quite sure she understood. Did her mother not understand the sometimes people died? Though maybe it was different, because her mother didn't have a voice to tell her about it. Maybe she was just lucky. Though probably not, because if she was lucky her father would still be the one in his body.

She had trouble sleeping some nights, though she never told anyone. The voice clarified what nightmares were and then would lull her back to sleep with stories she'd never heard before. Her favorite was about a mermaid, like the story her father had told her when she'd been smaller. But this story was different. The other one ended happy, but the mermaid was sad in this one.

She asked the voice if turning into sea foam so someone could be happy was like spilling blood for someone precious, but the voice never did answer her question.

* * *

She was six when she realized that the voice really, truly needed a name. She had been taking a break from training, watching as her skin practically bloomed with bruises right in front of her eyes. The voice had been irritated, telling her she wasn't good enough yet if she kept getting hurt like that. The words stung a little, but she knew her strange friend was right. **Not good enough,** the voice had said. **But you can be.**

They were words she knew by heart now—repeated over and over by her companion throughout all her training sessions, day after day after day. She was constantly reminded of what she could be and what she would be. And that made her wonder. _What are you, then?_

Her question must have surprised the voice, because now she didn't even get an annoyed demand that she go away. Instead, there was silence. Unnerving, empty.

 _I'm sorry if that was mean. I'm just saying that I know who I am. I have a name and a family and a future. But you're a voice inside my head. Do you have those too?_

 **I . . . used to. A long time ago. I had a name, and a garden, and a home, and a family, and a dog, and a dream that I'd wake up to every morning. I had a life. But now I'm just like you said; a voice inside your head. What more should I be?**

 _You're my friend. I think friends should have names._

 **I told you, I don't have a name anymore.**

 _Can I give you one?_

The voice hadn't answered and the girl frowned.

 _You told me a story about a world where people had an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. I think I liked that story. People never liked the devil, even though being like that was his job. And they didn't listen to him, even though sometimes what he said was smart._ She had paused to contemplate her next few words. _My name is Tenshi. Can I call you Akuma?_

Because she didn't need an angel and a devil on her shoulders when she already had both in her head.

 **Chapter End**

 **Question:** Can you guess when and where the protagonist(s) are in the storyline?

 **Today's suggested fanfic:** Kitsune by EmptySurface.


	2. Chapter One - Do Not Be Afraid

Chapter One - Do Not Be Afraid

 **Watch out, Pink-eye!** Akuma snapped in frustration. Her cold chakra cut sharply through Tenshi's system and set fire to the shinobi at Itachi's back. He whipped around and stabbed the enemy through the throat. Akuma shifted her chakra to work against Tenshi's current opponents.

Once they were cut down, the two went about collecting and sealing away the heads for the bounties. Itachi stopped in front of Tenshi and nodded. "Thank you, Akuma," he murmured.

 **Whatever, Dracula.**

Tenshi beamed. "She says you're welcome!"

 **What? No I fucking don't.**

"And she says you did an _amazing_ job today!"

 **Seriously, shut the fuck up. What's wrong with you? Just— You know what, just collect the bounties. I'm so done.**

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "You seem unusually nice today, Akuma. How . . . amusing." With that said, he turned and started walking North towards the closest bounty office.

 **Say that to my face, you bastard! I'll rip that ponytail right off, just watch me.**

 _You don't have a face, Akuma._

 **Hey, now, you don't have to be so rude about it.**

Tenshi just giggled and skipped to keep up with Itachi. She hooked her arm through his. "Look at what a good job we did today! Plus, the world now has seven fewer human traffickers and it's better for it."

He sighed and gently extracted himself from her grip. "I will never understand you or your ethical alignments."

"So you've said. And I've told you before that I don't have the luxury of choosing." She stubbornly took his arm again. "You chose to do this; I didn't."

He studied her for a moment and nodded. "I know. And if you had one?"

"Had one what?"

"A choice. What would you do if you had a choice?"

"I . . . ." Tenshi frowned. "I don't know. I don't want to be alone. I mean, I know that with Akuma, I'm never _really_ alone, but it's not the same as someone physical." She shrugged. "I think I'd leave if I had a choice, but only if I wasn't going to be alone."

"Hmm."

She tilted her head to the side. "Why so curious, Itachi-kun? Normally you just like to listen to me talk."

"Sasuke graduates this month."

"Oh?" She blinked and relaxed a grip on him a bit. "And?"

"You know the truth. Don't ask me that question."

"Right. So, you're worried about him."

 **And he's right to be. Baby Uchiha's life is about to go to hell.**

Tenshi stopped, blinking. Itachi paused a couple steps ahead and looked back. "What is it?"

"Akuma. One second." She frowned. _What do you mean?_

 **Just sayin' that his life is basically doomed now.**

Something must have showed on her face, because Itachi stepped forward with his brow creased in concern. "What's she saying?"

"Um . . . . Nothing good. Just that, well." Tenshi hesitated. "Sasuke's life is about to, quote, 'go to hell.'"

His expression drew thin. "What does that mean? How— No, what does that mean?"

 **He's screwed, Pink-eye. Your baby brother is screwed.**

Tenshi passed the message along, translating it into something a bit nicer. Itachi's fists clenched. "How does she know that?" he mumbled. "She always knows things that there's no way she should know."

"I've asked. She's never explained. But . . . well, she hasn't been wrong yet, has she?"

His jaw tightened and he glanced to the side. "No," he practically forced out. "She hasn't."

Tenshi gently drew her hand back from him and considered him for a long moment. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I . . . I don't know."

 **Don't think you can complain about him getting hurt if you aren't gonna do a damn thing to stop it. Man the hell up.**

Tenshi hesitated. "Akuma seems to think you should do something. And . . . she hasn't been wrong yet." She shrugged. "You asked me about my choice. Well, this is yours."

His gaze snapped to her and his sharingan was melting into a pattern she'd only seen once before. Tenshi smiled. "We turn these heads in and we'll have money to get away. And between us, we're skilled enough to avoid anyone Nagato sends after us."

"We?"

Her smiled turned into a grin. "If I go with you now, I wouldn't exactly be alone, would I?"

* * *

"Tenshi and Itachi missed check-in and bounty drop-off."

Pein frowned, tapping his fingers against the table. "They've never missed before."

"Maybe something went wrong." The way Konan twisted her lip piercing was the only sign of anxiety. "Maybe we should send someone to check up on them."

"No. Not yet. We'll give them until the next check in a day from now. Perhaps they've just fallen behind. Hidan and Kakazu did the same just recently."

"But Hidan and Kakazu are _not_ Tenshi and Itachi."

"Of that I'm well aware. Two days. And then we'll send Sasori and Deidara to make sure they're alive."

She tensed at his choice of words but managed a nod. "Of course," she murmured. "Whatever you say."

* * *

 **This is a bad idea. This is a bad idea. This is a bad idea. Oh my god, we're so fucked. You've fucked us. We're doomed. Screwed. It's all over.**

Tenshi stared at the Village walls in the distance. "I don't think it's that bad."

Itachi glanced at her and his brow furrowed. She shot him a smile. "Akuma," she said simply.

"Ah." He nodded and stepped back. "I'll be here."

"Great! Let's do this!" She started forward. Something snatched at her arm, pulling her to a stop. She looked back to find Itachi holding her wrist tightly. Tenshi frowned. "What is it?"

His sharingan scanned her face and she held her breath, counting the heartbeats in the time it took him to speak. "Thank you," he managed. "And be careful."

Tenshi blinked. And then she beamed. "Of course! And take care of yourself too. I shouldn't be gone too long, but I don't want to come back to find you've been skipping your meds."

A weak smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. "I wouldn't dream of it."

With that said, she delicately extracted herself from his hold and headed off. It was another mile at least to the Village and she felt the absence of another physical presence like an itch on her skin that she couldn't quite scratch.

 **Shut up. You still have me.**

 _Aw, don't think for a second that I don't appreciate you, Aku-chan._

 **Call me that again and I'll find a way to barbecue your insides.**

 _You're so sweet. Here's to hoping we don't die._


End file.
